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Many of the questions on this PEW survey are opinion and therefore strongly tied to the prevailing narrative of the mass media[read: worthless]. The two I found most interesting were “Someone jobless in your household this past year?” and “Got a raise/better job this past year?”

Now the data behind these questions are imminently useful. “Jobless?”: ’08=28%, ’09=39%, ’10=54%

BLS U5 (UNadjusted) = 6.1, 10.3, 11.5
69% Increase in ’09, 12% increase in ’10 …. The rise in job loss is decreasing precipitously, but still rising. This indicates that people lost a job in the last year BUT HAVE FOUND A NEW ONE by the time the BLS numbers posted.

“Got a raise or better job” decreased by OVER 40% in the same time frame.

SO, not only are there fewer people who hold jobs, but the people left WITH jobs [whether new or old] are less likely to have had a raise or received a better job. If people lose their job, but find a new one that is no better than their old one….. is the economy really improving?